Twitter Introduces Secure HTTPS Connection Setting

Users of micro-blogging platform Twitter will now be able to access their accounts using the secure HTTPS connection.

The technology, which was being trialled by Twitter for some time, will allow users to access the platform using a highly secure connection. HTTPS connections are most useful when accessing online accounts using public Wi-Fi.

Twitter users can protect their accounts by enabling the 'always use HTTPS' setting. It is not compulsory for users to enable the setting but security experts advise that they should as it provides an extra layer of protection. HTTPS secure connection is mostly used for online banking and shopping.

The secure connection prevents hackers from accessing user names, passwords and other sensitive information from public or unprotected Wi-Fi networks.

“This will improve the security of your account and better protect your information if you’re using Twitter over an unsecured Internet connection, like a public WiFi network, where someone may be able to eavesdrop on your site activity. In the future, we hope to make HTTPS the default setting,” the company said in a blog post.

The company also revealed that the security feature has been made a default setting for certain clients and activities on Twitter.

The need for added security on Twitter was highlighted recently when someone hacked Ashton Kutcher's account, which has over 6 million followers, during the TED 2011 conference.